Kukla's Korner Hockey

Entries with the tag: superskills

I thought I was totally joking when I asked a couple of All-Star goalies how they would feel about a goaltender’s fastest skater competition. But last night’s first overall pick in the NHL’s inaugural All-Star Fantasy Draft, Carolina’s Cam Ward, let the cat out of the bag that tonight, my little joke would indeed become a reality as part of this year’s SuperSkills.

“Rumor is that I’m going to be doing that tonight,” Ward said. “I hope my legs don’t turn to jelly and I don’t bite it into the corner or anything like that.”

His opponent?

“I think I’m going up against Tim Thomas.”

Boston and Carolina fans have since endured some heart palpitations, I’m sure.

The intent of altering the format for the NHL All-Star Game was to generate more interest in a mid-season exhibition that most would agree had become a bit blasé. With the rosters of Team Lidstrom and Team Staal now filled via last night’s Fantasy Draft and the SuperSkills competition on tap for tonight, whether or not the game itself will have any added spice remains to be seen but, so far as that added interest goes, the vibe here in Raleigh and the pageantry surrounding the selection process itself both suggest the achievement of just that.

The All-Star Game and its surrounding events should be about fun – for the fans, first and foremost, but also for the players involved and the captains and alternates for both sides as well as the draftees played things up effectively and had a good time throughout the process, which was evident in the broadcast.

“It looked good on TV, right?” Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis asked after the event and his question was met with immediate assent. That was the point, of course, and St. Louis and his All-Star contingents got it, doing the event well by playing things up to the best of their ability.